No Shortcuts to Mastery: Guy Kawasaki’s Raw Truth on Getting Great

Read on to discover why Guy Kawasaki argues that the secret to mastery in any field is a relentless pursuit, not shortcuts or quick fixes.

One of my most treasured memories from my stint at Singularity University came from the day I invited former Apple evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, to the Graduate Studies Program back in 2015. As fate would have it, we managed to record his session, which you can still watch here.

That day, Guy captivated Singularity University’s students for a riveting hour and a half, unpacking the insights and frameworks from his bestselling book, The Art of the Start 2.0. He concluded his presentation with an unfiltered Q&A session. About 88 minutes in, he’s asked about the secret to his public speaking prowess. In true Guy fashion, he argues that it took him 25 years to master the art – insisting that becoming great is fundamentally a matter of quantity.

Many of us hope Guy is mistaken, secretly wishing for a clever shortcut to excellence without the grind. The hard truth, however, is that mastery doesn’t work that way. Want to excel at public speaking? Step up to the mic as often as you can. Coding? Keep writing that code. Launching companies? Keep founding them.

No shortcuts. Just good, honest work.